Beautiful Glen Lake!

(No, I did NOT Photoshop this!) Most beautiful sunset on Glen Lake. We are back in Michigan for a few days and traveled up to our families cottage up north. It was so pretty and so GREEN and it was so wonderful to be there again!
Violet played on the beach...And so did her little sister...
Willa tested out the water. At first she thought maybe she would like it. But then she changed her mind.More pictures of Violet playing on the beach
And went swimming in the lake
Jon and his girls
Miss Willa Mae
Violet and her step-cousin Elsa
My mom, my grandma and Willa. This was the first time my grandma got to meet her namesake Willa Mae (she is Virginia Mae)
And my grandpa (who is 90 this year!) and is great-grandaugter
Me and a silly Violet
Elsa, Violet and Willa on the grass.
This cracks me up! It totally looks like Elsa is pushing down Willa's head into the grass, which is not really the case.The must-have cottage picture of "baby on shag carpet"
Boat ride!
Napping on the boatViolet Drives!Visiting my grandparents at their place on the Crystal River
Violet and Grandma looking at a crayfish in the riverAND I also got to go see my horse again! We took Violet out to see him... I guess I've got a city girl, she was TERRIFIED! Of course, he is pretty big. The only reason she touched him was to push his nose away when he went to get treats.

I even got to ride! I think Max remembered how to be a show horse, just a little tiny bit! And I remembered how to ride, just a little tiny bit.
"A canter is the cure for every evil" - I agree 1000%!
My boy. I miss him!
Still so pretty and SO clean!

Back in Grand Rapids, my sister got a brand new boston terrier puppy, Louie. He and Willa really hit it off!
Willa plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" with WillaOur girls eating their corn at dinner

I also got to visit my friend Kara and her adorable twins, Brynn and Nate.This picture reminds me of an album cover. Nate is the lead singer. Brynn and Willa are the backups.
Before we left on vacation, Violet discovered a great hiding place in the luggage

You'd think it was the 4th of July again...

Because we went to a parade this weekend that rivaled most holiday parades! Our own little town had a festival this weekend complete with a huge, long, candy-throwin' parade, a car show, and festival. We went to the parade with our friends Sarah and Kevin and their daughter Piper.
Violet, Piper and Jon waiting for even MORE candy to be thrown.The girls pointing at the slightly creeply clowns riding bikes.

Violet demonstrating how to properly lick a lollipop.Apparently we've been pointing the camera at Violet and saying "Smile!" a little too much. She has come up with THIS beauty of a smile every time a camera is pointed in her general direction.

Yikes!
Luckily she does still smile like a normal person sometimes. It started to rain during the parade and the girls took refuge under the umbrella in Piper's wagon.

Me n' VioletWilla getting her tiny ears plugged while the firetrucks went by
And how she spent the better part of the parade...
She did wake up enough to hang out with SarahViolet hasn't gotten much "face time" on this blog lately, but today I got her to take some pictures in the yard and I think they turned out pretty cute! We avoided the really cheesy smile for the most part!


Trying to make a monkey face.
Our little Picasso (or O'Keefe)Her works of art
She has also been busy playing vet to Porter. And being a good big sister. Today I was busy getting our pantry straightened out (Jon put in some cubby's for me - it is SO NICE!) when Violet came in the kitchen and got a rag. I thought maybe she spilled something so I followed her into the living room (she couldn't see me) where she sweetly covered up Willa with the towel. Then she went into Willa's room and got all of her shoes and laid them on her. Awwww.
And one good picture of Willa. She had her 2 month appointment and is doing GREAT! She's 11 lbs 11 oz, 23 inches long, and is SUPER STRONG! The doctor couldn't believe how strong she was and how much neck/arm/head control she has already. Go Willa Go!